A commercially available automobile or a car (referred hereinafter as “automobile”) is a self-powered motor vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads, and is typically provided with four wheels having tires fitted thereon. The vehicle propulsion is to date commonly provided by an engine or motor, such as an internal combustion engine, an electric motor or a combination thereof. The power generated by the engine or motor is transmitted to rotate the four wheels and thus the tires in contact with the road, thereby moving the automobile in a direction on the road.
The automobile wheels, such as alloy wheels or steel wheels, are circular components which rotate on axles or axle shafts, such as drive axles, dead axles and transaxles, and which are provided with a rim constituting an outer edge of the wheel for holding the tire thereon and a disk radially extending inwardly from the rim to form a center hub. The center hub typically includes multiple holes around the wheel center for receiving associated wheel studs, and the rim a pair of opposed rim flanges for retaining the tire therebetween. To connect the wheel to the axle, the axle is ordinarily provided with a wheel hub or a wheel bearing hub having a number of externally threaded wheel studs, and the wheel is positioned such that an interior surface of the center hub is in at least partial contact with an exterior surface of the wheel hub, and the wheel studs are received through associated holes in the center hub. The wheel studs are threadably received in internally threaded lug nuts or wheel nuts (referred hereinafter as “lug nuts”) to thereby securely placing the wheel on the axle. With the tire secured around the wheel between the rim flanges, the tire functions to provide traction between the automobile and the road in propelling the automobile, as well as to provide a flexible cushion to absorb shock when for example travelling over an uneven surface on the road. Typically, the wheel and the tire are sold to end customers with the tire installed or placed on the rim of the wheel.
In the operation of the automobile, damages may occur to the wheel and/or the tire, such as a puncture to the tire leading to a loss of tire pressure, requiring immediate replacement to continue operation, or the existing tire may be intended for operation in non-winter seasons, and requires replacement for a winter tire in preparation for the winter season. In either case, typically an automobile operator can replace the tire using a car jack. Specifically, the car jack can be utilized to raise a portion of the automobile adjacent to the damaged or non-winter tire, such that the tire is also raised from the ground. The lug nuts are then removed from the wheel studs, the tire and the attached wheel is removed from the associated wheel hub, and the spare or replacement wheel and tire is secured to the wheel hub using the lug nuts. The automobile can then be lowered using the car jack, such that the spare or replacement tire contacts the ground, the car jack is removed, and the automobile can be placed back in operation.
It has been appreciated that given the weight of the wheel and tire which may exceed 10 kg, removing and placing the wheel and tire on the automobile can require significant challenges and potential safety concerns.